Pope Benedict XVI and the Orthodox ecumenical patriarch Bartholemew are seeking to put differences aside in order to encourage a growing global vision of Christian unity in a divided world, using St Paul as an exemplar.

Women in the Orthodox Church have reached significant milestones regarding their participation in church life, but many of their concerns have not yet been fully addressed, an international gathering of Orthodox women has stated.

The Romanian Orthodox Church has condemned the formation of a trade union among its clergy, and has said that priests should follow church procedures in making demands and airing grievances. But the workers involved disagree.

The leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, visiting Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, has spoken of the "genocide" suffered by his compatriots in the Ottoman empire, and said that those with power should ensure that justice prevails.

Russia's president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor, can count on support from his country's religious organizations which have congratulated him after his landslide victory in the recent elections.

A world church leader has responded with "strong disappointment and shock" to what he says is the unlawful recent destruction of an historic Orthodox Christian Church by eight officials of a local Ministry of Forestry in Turkey.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I, seen by many of the world's Orthodox Christians as their spiritual leader, has issued a warning saying climate change, which threatens the survival of humanity, needs to be dealt with immediately.